What Happened When Pete Buttigieg Tore Down Houses In Black And Latino South Bend

Regina Williams-Preston got into politics so that the city wouldn’t do to anyone else what the mayor’s big redevelopment plan did to her.

His program to knock down hundreds of homes in black and Latino neighborhoods like hers smacked of gentrification and ultimately cost her family several investment properties they hoped to repair but couldn’t after Williams-Preston’s husband suffered a serious illness.

This is the kind of report I wanted to see when I heard about the “1,000 homes in 1,000 days” program. The article is not a hit piece, but it does show what can happen with well meaning, but inexperienced people get aggressive. There have been plenty of experienced people who did things like this, but I am not sure they were well meaning.

I would not be surprised if what Pete Buttigieg thought when he took on this project is some of what goes into vulture capitalists thinking when they take over a company and strip it of its assets, leaving the company’s debt holders and employees with nothing. This is what they may teach in business schools as just maximizing shareholder values. That sounds like a laudable goal until you think about the collateral damage.